Homelessness Is a Housing Problem

"There is no shortage of empirical research on homelessness in the academic literature. What is missing is a book like this one, which draws on established research to explain the scope, nature, and underlying causes of homelessness to a non-academic and non-specialist audience."--Thomas Byrne, Associate Professor of Social Welfare Policy, Boston University "Gregg Colburn and Clayton Page Aldern show convincingly that rents and rental vacancy rates are key drivers of city-to-city variation in rates of homelessness. The clear presentation and graphs provide an intuitive understanding of the difference between the causes of rates of homelessness and vulnerability factors that increase risk for individuals."--Marybeth Shinn, author of In the Midst of Plenty: Homelessness and What to Do About It "This excellent book makes a strong case that only the growing gap in affordable housing--not individual failings--can explain the problem of homelessness. The book describes how and why this gap grows and how it affects homelessness, and the possible solutions offered here give us a solid direction for the future."--Nan Roman, President and CEO, National Alliance to End Homelessness